Heartz Road/FP-CS 900827UNIVEST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
August 27, 1990
Mr. Alan D. Ratliff
City Manager
City of Coppell
P. O. Box 478
Coppell, Texas 75019
Re: Construction of Road and Utility Improvements
Park Place Addition and Heartz Road
Dear Mr. Ratliff:
As you know, the preliminary plat for the Park Place Addition was initially
approved by the City on or about December 10, 1989. I also delivered a request on
June 6, 1990 (copy enclosed) to extend the termination date of the preliminary plat to
December 31, 1990, and was verbally advised that request was presented to thc City
Council with the City's staff's recommendation for approval. However I have never
received confirmation of the plat extension. In order to develop the Park Place
Addition, I have a contract to purchase the land from its current owner, ABQ Federal
Savings Bank ("ABQFSB"), which operates under the conservatorship of the
Resolution Trust Corporation ("RTC"). The land acquisition is scheduled to close as
soon as possible in September, subject to the matters requested herein.
At the time the Park Place preliminary plat was submitted to the City for
approval, I advised the City that this property is exempt from assessment for the
improvement cost of future widening Sandy Lake Rd., according to the terms of the
~ Contract of Sale between the city and the Parks of Coppcli Joint Venture. Enclosed
are copies of my letter of September 19, 1989 which contained that statement, and a
follow up letter of September 29, 1989 requested by the City staff which cited the legal
basis for the exemption. Subsequently no further questions on this matter were
raised during the preliminary plat approval process, but I have never been formally
advised that thc City agrees with thc exemption.
The Park Place Addition is to obtain its sanitary sewor/ service by connecting to
thc sanitary sewer linc to be constructed with thc extension of Hcartz Rd. on thc west
boundary of thc Park Place Addition. Hcartz Rd. was originally to bc constructed by
thc previous owner of thc Park Place land and othcr land adjacent to thc future
extension of Heartz Rd., ABQ Development Corporation ("ABQDC"). Although the
existing 8" sewer line on thc west side of Park Place probably has sufficient capacity
to serve Park Place, thc new sewer line was to be built anyway by ABQDC, and is sized
to serve approximately 243 acres in Coppeli. Also the 12" water line to be constructed
in Hcartz is sized to serve thc entire area between Sandy Lake and Parkway Blvd.
Thc construction of Hcartz Road and its associated utilities has been previously
approved by thc City upon request by ABQDC. Subsequent to that approval, thc
ownership of ABQDC has been succeeded by ABQFSB. ABQFSB would not agrco" to
UNIVEST FINANCIAL CORP. · ALLEN EQUITIES INC.
12770 (30IT RD. · SUITE 1215 · DALLAS, TEXAS 75251 · 214/233-5771
Mr. Alan D. Rathff - Page 2 .,~.~
continue with the Heartz R ruction project. In order to
Park Place Addition. I have. agreed to consider taking over the construction of
subject to cemain revisio~ in the original design of ~eamz Rd., including among.
other things revisions ~ the plans for Hea~z Rd. p~viously approved, which were
preps[ed by J~:~yh~}_ c~jting engineer for ABQDC (the "Parche' Heanz
Pl~s ). T~ ~isions to the original design of Heanz Rd. which we request fr~m th~
City are p~ reflected in those certain revised plans for the constmcUon ot
Heanz Road and its associated utilities which have been prepared at our request,
wi~ ~e consem of ABQFSB, by Dan M. Dowdey ~d As~., dated May of 1~0 (the
r"Dowdey Heanz Plans"). T~ Dowdey Heanz Pi~s were submitt~ to the City for its
review on or around August 10, 1990.~ Any other requests for revision to the
construction requirements for Heanz Rd. outside of the Dowdey Hea~z Plans are/
described herein. ~_~
Shortly after our ~eting with the City on ~is issue of April 27, 1990, we were
advised by ~e City st~f that ~e r~onstmction of ~e ~wcr line in Heanz Rd. was a
matter under City control, and we would not be required to obtain the review or
approval of the Copp~l Municipal Utility District No. 1 CCMUD") on any work related
to the Heanz cons~ction, other than the actual connection with the CMUD trunk
sewer line north o~ Parkway Blvd. Recently I have been advised by Mr. Paul Phy,
attorney for thc C~UD, that the sewer line, and possibly some of thc other utilities in
He~z Rd., a~ to/owned by the CMUD ~d will be subject to their ~view procc~. In
order to avoid potential delays, we have also forwarded to ~e CMUD a set of
Dowdcy Heanz Plans for their review to the extent which may be required. Mr. Phy
has also expressed concern over whether certain properties which are in the
drainage area for this sewer line, but which are not in ~c CMUD, might be allowed to
tie onto this line. While I understand there are many issues between
CMUD, it is implant that our development (which by the way is in ~c CMUD) is not
these matters or subjected to a duplication in fees or inspection.
delayed
by
~erefore ~is letter also requests thc City to obtain the approval of the CMUD, to the
extent neccssa~, of thc matters requested herein.
On June 12, 1990 I sent a letter (copy enclosed) objecting to ~e imposition of the
new impact fees on any project which already had a prclimina~ o~~~~
approval. This is reasonable because in these cases the land contrac~~
ne otiated, ~d the economics of thc transaction has not contemplated any incrcases~k~
beyond the cit~ fees which were previously customary. Fu~her I questioned~~
w~ether the imposition of these fees on Park Place, which is in the CMUD ~d~~
therefore oays ~ additional ad valorem tax for the pu~ose of paying for utility~~~
~--~as a valid ~d fair governmental assessment, or might in fact
t =ion. dvi =a at=r by th= City .ta,
~su~~c new impact fees but ~at a study was to ~ made of how
~ modified for l~d in the CMUD. Now that I am considering taking over
.d. =on , c,ion invo,.,,2:
lines at our cost, which arc dist~bution ' c s' ' ' q'
se~c thc Park Place Addition, I ~ even more strongly of thc opinion ~at the .Park
glac~ devel~m~o~ ~ ~ ~ su~c~c~ to ~c new ~~. I f~!_ff~
~~--~~nterest to have us build ~esc larger utihtlcs to sc~c futu~
development. In this way Park Place is already paying its "fair share" of the City's
infrastructure costs, and should ~ "grandfa~ered" from the new impact fees. Also
you should be aware we are not requesting ~y reimbursements from ~e CMUD for
the cost of any utilities in Heanz Rd. per se.
Mr Alan D. Ratliff- Page 3
In our mccting of April 27, 1990 wc discusscd thc posstbfi~ty~_qof_~usin/g thc
clcctric distribution line polcs which arc to bc constructed along Hcartz Rd. for
additional ur osc of susvcnding strcct lighting, in licu of building separatc strcet
lights The City staff subsequently looked into th~s along with Texas Utfimes, and I
h~ve enclosed a' letter from Texas Utilities indicating acceptance of this concept by
the Texas Utilities and the City staff, subject to final determination of the number of
lights needed.
The drainage facilities being constructed in Park Place and in Heartz Road~
deliver storm drainage into a recorded drainage easement which is for_the benefit~ .of\
~BQDC, the Parks of C~ppell ~oint Venture and their successors and assigns (tl~e\
Mutual Drainage Easement ), a copy of which was delivered to the City with the Park\
Place plat application, and again on April 27, 1990. The Mutual Drainage Easement is\
located generally along the east side of Heartz Rd. and to the north of the Park Place ~/
Addition. The storm water drainage from Par~k_Pla~e and Heartz Rd. is planned to be~
discharged into the already existing interi~ channel which is in the Mutual,/
Drainage Easement, and which ultimately t'l~ws into public drainage ways w~/L
terminate into Denton Creek.
My agreement to take over thc construction of Hcartz Rd. is conditioned upon
thc approval by thc City of thc matters listed herein. To facilitate the development of
the Park Place Addition and the construction of Heartz Rd., thc purpose of this letter
is to document the City's approval, and to thc extent necessary thc CMUD's approval,
of these matters.
.., ~ We hereby request thc City's written confirmation of thc following: ~/q
?O~.,r~-~?fg~'~l. That the preliminary plat for Park Place and the final plat for Hcartz _Rd.~.
'~~'both vreviously approved by ~e City, are still valid ~d in-full for~e ~d effect ~d
shall 'be untii 12/31/90, notwithstanding ~y change in ~he ownership of the l~d
comprising the Hea~z Rd. right-of-way. Prior to recording the Hea~z Rd. plat, we
will obtain any necessa~ signatures from ABQFSB, the new owner·
That the Park Place Addition is exempted from ~y//~sessment by the City for~
the improvement costs associated with the future widening~Sandy Lake Rd., provided~~
that the final plat for the Park Place Addition includes the dedication of a 25' wide
of ia ning of S ay Ra.
~..Concevtual approval of the above described sys,em for providing sewer
d~inage ~i~~'~rk Place Addition. .~ .und~rst~d that the City mus~
complete its review and approval the /~fial eng~h~ documents for suc
...... ~ ~
~ht~es, whwh were submitted to the C~ty ~ Au~s~ ~2, 1~[ ~
~ ~ ~. Approval by the City and ~he CMUD of the Dowdey Heanz Plus;
~e~ent that the const~ction of the public facilities reflected thereon shall b~.
~4. Agreement by ~e City that ~e Pa& Place Addition will not be required to
the recently approved water and sewer impact fees,[provided the Heanz Rd.
const~ction reflected by the Dowdey Hea~z Pl~s is completed on or before issu~ce
building pe~its in Park Place.] C~5 ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~( ~~
t
Mr. Alan D. Ratliff - Page 4
~ ~,~'~That the Mutual Drainage Easement may be used to provide storm draina.ge
clisch~,~ points for tieart~. Rd. and for the Park Place Addition, provided
necessary modifications to grades and geometries are made within the Mutual
'</.~That the construction~reflected on the Dowdey Heartz Plans, plus the
Approval by the City of using electric distribution linc poles along.
Rd. the purpose of suspending street lighting, subjec, t to final determination
the City of the number of lights needed. ,~t~
construction of electric distribution lines and street lighting, is all of the
requirements of the City for the construction of Heartz and its associated utilities,
that there are no further special requirements imposed by the City on this project,
and that the City shall accept the construction of Heartz Rd. and its associated utilities
as completed upon the performance of this work in a workmanlike manner and in
conformity with the normal city standards. ~ ~ ~ ~/tt~u~e~ ~ I~-- ~ ~ ~'~""~'
If the City confirms that the above statements correctly reflect the City's
position, please so indicate by an authorized signature in the space provided below.
If you have any questions, please let me know. I need to have these written
confirmations no later than September 12, 1990. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Univest Development Company
~icha~l ' R AII~, Pr~id~l
A~ AND AGREED:
CITY OF COPP~ ~.:
By:, .Date:
Alan D. Ratliff, City Manager
COPPELL MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NUMBER 1 (to the extent of its interest):
By: Date:
cc: Dan Dowdey and Associates, Consulting Engineers
Richard Dooley
ar/abq/8.23.90
18,90 10:48 213
P.02
June ]H, !9~JO
Hicl',nnl E. Allen
las, 'l'e.%n~ ';5~52
Dear Mr. Allen:
~UELECTRIC
- (;oram noted
it' you have agY q~est, ions~ pi. ease feel t't'ee l'o ctil[ Be at.
~ .~r'. Cu~,%omor' Serv'ice$ Reprr~ental. iv¢
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UNIVEST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
12770 COlT ROAD · SUITE 1215 ' DALLAS, TEXAS 75251
Telephone 214-233-5771 / Fax 214-233-5881
June 12, 1990
Mr. Gary L. Seib
Director of Planning and Community Services
City of Coppell
P.O. Box 478
255 Parkway Boulevard
Coppell, Texas 75019
Re: Proposed Revisions lo Utility Impact Fees
Dear Gary:
Please pass along the following comments on the proposed revisions in the impact fee ordinances
Io the appropriate cily officials so thal they may be included in the process of consideration,
I must assume that the Impact Fee Study of May 1990 prepared by Ginn, Inc. Consulting
Engineers for the City of Coppell essentially follows the procedures contemplated by applicable
law, and I have no basis for questioning the facts or assumptions used therein. Assuming these
are correct, I would make the following three comments for consideration by the City Council:
,~'C)'v.,~__ 1. Possible Duplication of Taxation - With respect to property located in the Coppell
~<'~_.~'(-Municipal District Number One ("CMUD"), I would echo the caution raised in the Ginn study
regarding the imposition of City impact fees on property located within the CMUD and served by
utilities paid for by the CMUD. This issue was also raised at the time the city initially adopted
utility availability fees several years ago. As I understand the purpose of an impact fee, it is a
<~method of taxation to direct the cost burden of required new utility infrastructure to new
development, rather than lo the general population of the city. It is difficult to see how this tax
is applicable with respect to property in the CMUD. In the CMUD area the city does not bear
much of the cost of utility infrastructure, but it is primarily paid for by a combination of the
CMUD and the developers within the CMUD. All of the properly located within the CMUD has,
for roughly the last 20 years, paid a separate and additional property tax which provides the
funds to pay for utility infrastrUcture costs over and above those paid directly by the
developers.
On the other hand I realize that the city may eventually absorb and take over the CMUD,
and at that time have to assume some amount of outstanding indebtedness. While the amount of
that indebtedness is unknown, it will surely be significantly less than the value of the
infrastructure "inherited" by the city.
Mr. Gary L. Seib - Page 2
The property located in the CMUD should not experience preferential treatment, nor
should it experience an additional tax burden over and above other property located in the city.
Possibly some formula could be developed for calculating a modified impact fee in that area to
reflect the potential debt assumption by the City at a future date, which could be adjusted
annually as the debt burden changes.
2. Developments in Process - With respect to properties which are already undergoing
the development process, the prospective developers and builders involved have already made
financial commitments, and determined the economics of their project based on those
commitments. It places an undue burden on these projects to change the rules on them in
midstream. Therefore, I would propose that properties which have existing preliminary and
final plats approved, but are not yet completely constructed, should be exempted from an
increase in impact fees. ~
3. Division of Costs - In a time when availability of development and construction
financing is a major retardant to new development and growth, the city should be careful not to
unnecessarily increase difficulties for either developers or builders. In general developers
will favor payment of the impact fee by builders, and in general builders will favor payment of
the impact fee by developers. This is because the shifting of the burden will ease the financing
difficulties for the other party. For the last several years the community has become
accustomed to one-half of the fees being paid by the developer upon platting, and one-half of the
fees being paid by the builder upon building permit. I propose that the city leave this procedure
in place so as not to increase the burden for either builders or developers.
If you have any questions please call.
Yours very truly,
Univest Development Company
Michael R. Allen, President
Mark Wolfe
Alan Ratliff
Richard Dooley
IMPACT FEES/6.12.90
UNIVEST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
June 6, 1990
Alan Ratliff
City Manager
City of Coppell
255 Parkway Boulevard
Coppell, Texas 75019
Re: Preliminary Plat
Park Place Addition
Dear Mr. Ratliff:
On or about December 12, 1989 the City Council of Coppell approved the Preliminary Plat for
the Park Place Addition, an 88 lot single family subdivision located on the north side of Sandy
Lake Road. As you know the current owner of that land is ABQ Development Corp. which is a
subsidiary of a savings bank in New Mexico which was taken over by the Resolution Trust Corp.
on or around February 1, 1990. Due to the RTC takeover, our contract of sale with ABQ for the
land has experienced significant delays. This has been further complicated by the fact that ABQ
was originally to build Heartz Road as a part of our land contract as well as pursuant to other
obligations between ABQ Development Corp. and the Parks of Coppell Joint Venture.
In order for us to proceed with our land contract, it has become a condition of this transaction
imposed by the RTC for our company to take over the construction of Heartz Rd. As you know we
have previously met with the City and requested information so we may make an informed
business decision regarding the City's requirement for Heartz Rd., some of which is still in
process.
The purpose of this letter is to formally request that the City Council extend any automatic
termination date of the Park Place Preliminay Plat to December 31, 1990 to allow sufficient
time to complete the land acquisition and submit to the city the required final engineering and
plat. While we do not think that it will take that long for the final platting of Park Place to
commence, I would prefer to not have to ask for further extensions at a later date. Please make
our request known to the Coppell City Council at the earliest available time and let me know if
you need anything further from me, (including appearance at a meeting) other than this letter
formally requesting the Preliminary Plat extension.
Yours very truly,
Un.ivest Development Co.
Michael R. Allen, President
Mark Wolfe
Richard Dooley
Stan Strickman, ABQ Development Corp.
UNIVEST FINANCIAL CORP. ° ALLEN EQUITIES INC.
12770 COlT RD.. SUITE 1215 · DALLAS, TEXAS 75;)51 · 214/233-5771
UNIVEST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
September 29, 1989
Mr. Alan D. Ratliff
City Manager
City of Coppell
P. O. Box 478
Coppell, Texas 75019
Re: Preliminary Plat Submission
Park Place Addition
Dear Mr. Ratliff:
This letter is being written as a follow up to my letter of September 19, 1989
requesting certain variances for the referenced plat. At the request of you staff, !
cite the following references to support our request #4 in the letter of the 19th. This
agreement with the City arises from paragraph 2 (e) of Article IV of the Contract of
SaM between the City and the Parks of Coppell Joint Venture Il dated December 30,
1982. This agreement was further confirmed in paragraph 22 of the Amendment to
Contract of Sale between the City and the Parks of Coppell Joint Venture Il dated
January 27, 1987 and by the City's adherence to this agreement with respect to the
improvement of Denton Tap Road. Copies of the pertinent paragraphs are enclosed.
I would also like to point one other requested variance that I failed to include in
the letter of the 19th. The proposed plat contains two intersections with Sandy Lake
Road, which are planned to line up with two existing streets on the south side of
Sandy Lake. Causing the westernmost street to line up results in an odd shaped lot at
thc corner.
In the future Sandy Lake in planned to be improved to a median divided street.
However the two existing streets are only about 300' apart, whereas your ordinance
requires 420' of separation between median breaks. If we are going to be required to
align the intersections, we request to have median breaks at both intersections;
otherwise there is no logic to aligning the intersections. Our engineers tell us this
can be safely done in 300'. I know a similar variance was granted with respect to
median breaks in Denton Tap next to the Town Center.
Sincerely,
Univest Development Company
Michael R. Allen, President
cc: Dan Dowdey
AR/NEW/ABQ/9.29.89 UNIVEST FINANCIAL CORP. ° ALLEN EQUITIES INC.
12770 COlT RD.. SUITE 1215 · DALLAS, TEXAS 75251 · 214/233-5771
UNIVEST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
September 19, 1989
Mr. Alan D. Ratliff
City Manager
City of Coppell
P. O. Box 478
Coppeil, Texas 75019
Re: Preliminary Plat Submission
Park Place Addition
Dear Mr. Ratliff:
We are submitting a preliminary plat for approval, to be heard at the October,
1989 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. This letter is being written to
specify the variances from the Subdivision Ordinance being requested in
conjunction with the preliminary plat. To the best of my current knowledge, the
variances are as follows:
1. The front yard setback shall be 25' instead of the ordinance provision for
30'. This variance has been granted in several of the highest priced custom home
additions in Coppell. We believe it maintains an acceptable street appearance and
provides a more functional back yard to the homeowner.
2. The interior side yard setback shall be 7' instead of the ordinance provision
for 8'. This variance will provide additional architectural flexibility to the builders,
while still maintaining an attractive separation between homes. The typical lots in
the development are between 71' and 73' in width.
3. The lots which side to the masonry screening walls proposed along Sandy
Lake and Heartz will have a 10' side setback adjacent to the wall. We were not sure of
the city requirement in this circumstance, but the normal corner lot side setback of
15', which is designed to facilitate traffic visibility, is not applicable because of the
screening wall.
4. Although it may be a matter for final plat discussion, I want to point out now
that this property is exempt from assessment for the improvement cost of future
widening Sandy Lake Rd., according to the terms of the Contract of Sale between the
city and the Parks of Coppell Joint Venture. The plat does however provide for a
dedication of 25' of right-of-way for the widening of Sandy Lake.
Sincerely,
I~n.i, vest Development Company
Mi'~hae! R. Allen, President
cc: Dan Dowdey
AR/NEW/ABQ/9.18.89 UNIVEST FINANCIAL CORP. · ALLEN EQUITIES INC.
12770 COlT RD,. SUITE 1215. DALLAS. TEXAS 75251 · 214/233-5771